Shamarko Thomas | Safety

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Thomas (5-foot-8 7/8, 213) is a bullet to the ball. He ran 4.42 at the Combine with an explosive 11-foot-1 broad jump. Thomas logged 16.5 tackles for loss, four sacks, two interceptions, and four forced fumbles in his college career. Mike Mayock has compared Thomas' to former Colts great Bob Sanders. Described as a "vicious striker" by ESPN Scouts Inc.'s Kevin Weidl, Thomas is a highlight-reel hitter but plays in a straight line and won't be able to cover NFL pass catchers one-on-one, lacking both fluidity and height. He'll step in as Pittsburgh's third safety. Sat, Apr 27, 2013 12:56:00 PM

Syracuse S Shamarko Thomas visited the Rams on Wednesday.

We like Thomas more than most, apparently, and list him just outside of the top five safeties. He is an ultra aggressive strong safety who flies around the field, but many will question Thomas' size to stick with larger receivers and the flashes of tightness he shows when asked to recover. Thu, Apr 11, 2013 03:00:00 PM

Scouts Inc.'s Kevin Weidl believes Syracuse's Shamarko Thomas is the most recent S that plays the game with "no regard for his body."

Weidl recalls that current Browns safety TJ Ward was the last to share this trait. "Vicious striker," Weidl added. "This safety class is physical and plays (with) an edge near the top. You could put together a serious highlight reel of big hits between them." We love Thomas' mentality, but there are flashes of tight hips when forced to change multiple angles. Tue, Apr 9, 2013 10:37:00 AM

The team is aging defensively and needs to replenish defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau's system. Thomas is very aggressive and perhaps a future replacement for safety Troy Polamalu, while Will Davis is also aggressive but somewhat undisciplined. He's not particularly speedy and needs to improve his footwork. Both are mid-round prospects at best. Mon, Apr 8, 2013 03:30:00 PM

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We like Thomas more than most, apparently, and list him just outside of the top five safeties. He is an ultra aggressive strong safety who flies around the field, but many will question Thomas' size to stick with larger receivers and the flashes of tightness he shows when asked to recover.

Scouts Inc.'s Kevin Weidl believes Syracuse's Shamarko Thomas is the most recent S that plays the game with "no regard for his body."

Weidl recalls that current Browns safety TJ Ward was the last to share this trait. "Vicious striker," Weidl added. "This safety class is physical and plays (with) an edge near the top. You could put together a serious highlight reel of big hits between them." We love Thomas' mentality, but there are flashes of tight hips when forced to change multiple angles.

The team is aging defensively and needs to replenish defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau's system. Thomas is very aggressive and perhaps a future replacement for safety Troy Polamalu, while Will Davis is also aggressive but somewhat undisciplined. He's not particularly speedy and needs to improve his footwork. Both are mid-round prospects at best.

When asked about Thomas' Combine performance, Mayock said "he looked like Bob Sanders to me, and he did on tape.... he is a missile, he gets after the run, but his numbers at the Combine were phenomenal." Mayock went on to acknowledge that Thomas is a bit tight and short, but sees the safety as a late second- to mid third-round pick.

Weidl adds that Thomas is "instinctive, versatile" and very tough along with quickly closing to be physical and reliable in run support. Safety always seems to be a thin position during the predraft process, say a second- to third-day selection may be in Thomas' future.